Skyscraper gets rocky start as Hotel Transylvania 3 checks in at No. 1

Los Angeles

IT TURNS OUT that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was no match for an animated Dracula.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation topped the US box office charts with US$44 million from 4,267 locations, while Johnson's Skyscraper washed up with a paltry US$25.5 million from 3,782 theatres.

Sony's animated family feature picked up US$46.4 million overseas this weekend for a global start of US$100 million, including Amazon Prime showings. The third instalment of the franchise - featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, and Kathryn Hahn - carried an US$80 million production budget.

As the first film in the series debuting during summer (its predecessors opened in September), Sony's marketing and distribution president, Josh Greenstein, said the studio hopes that Hotel Transylvania 3 will benefit in coming weeks from kids being out of school.

The opening for Hotel Transylvania 3 represents the second-best for the franchise. The first film, 2012's Hotel Transylvania, bowed with US$42 million, while the sequel started with US$48 million.

Skyscraper's debut wasn't even enough to secure the No. 2 slot, which went to the second weekend of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp with US$29.5 million from 4,206 locations. The superhero sequel picked up another US$35.3 million internationally, taking its global total to US$284 million. Domestically, the Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly-led tentpole earned US$133 million, while overseas it has made US$151 million.

Universal and Legendary's Skyscraper checked in third place, coming in way under projections. With just US$25 million in ticket sales, Skyscraper represents the lowest opening for a Johnson-starred movie in recent years.

The studio is banking on the former WWE wrestler's massive international following to justify the film's pricey US$125 million budget. It bows in China, where the action film is set, next weekend.

Incredibles 2 landed in fourth place with US$16 million in its fifth weekend, while Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom rounded out the top five with US$15.5 million in its fourth frame.

However, that order could fluctuate when final numbers are tallied on Monday.

Disney-Pixar's Incredibles 2 is now the ninth-highest domestic release of all time with US$535.8 million. The animated family film has amassed US$856.9 million worldwide, including US$321 million from overseas markets.

At the specialty box office, A24's Eighth Grade generated the best per-screen-average of the year with US$63,071. Bo Burnham wrote and directed the critically lauded feature, which made US$255,000 when it opened on four screens. The coming-of-age film stars Elsie Fisher navigating her last week of middle school.

Meanwhile, Annapurna's Sorry to Bother You nabbed seventh place at the domestic box office. Boots Riley's satirical comedy pocketed US$4.3 million when it expanded to 805 theatres. In total, it has earned US$5.3 million.

Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot premiered in four theatres with US$83,120. Joaquin Phoenix stars in the Amazon Studios comedy, which earned US$20,780 per theatre.

The summer of theatrical documentaries is still in full swing, as Won't You Be My Neighbor earned US$1.8 million in its sixth weekend. Morgan Neville's film centring on Mister Rogers has grossed US$15.8 million, making it the highest grossing documentary of the year, as well as the 16th-highest earning of all time.

Roadside Attractions and Miramax's Whitney pulled in another US$535,385 from 208 screens. The Whitney Houston documentary has made US$2.6 million to date. REUTERS